St. Barnabas is part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a group of Christian churches that trace their heritage back to the Church of England.  The Church of England began as part of the Protestant movement that arose in reaction to perceived (and acknowledged) abuses in the medieval Roman Catholic Church.  The Church of England has been through many political twists and turns, but at its best it has always emphasized familiarity with the Bible and humble dependence on God’s actions in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the key to salvation. 

In the Seventeenth Century, the Anglican Church developed a beautiful liturgy (a form of prayers and readings for public worship) that has been used worldwide.  In the course of time, however, some words in the liturgy fell out of use and some changed their meanings.  In 2019, the ACNA published a new version of the liturgy that preserves the sense of the original but uses more modern language to avoid confusion.  That is the liturgy that we use at St. Barnabas.

The ACNA publishes forms of daily prayer (called the Daily Office) online at

https://www.dailyoffice2019.com/

 You can find prayers for the morning, for midday, for the evening, and for late evening (compline).  Here is how the morning prayer liturgy often begins:

Dearly beloved, the Scriptures teach us to acknowledge our many sins and offenses, not concealing them from our heavenly Father, but confessing them with humble and obedient hearts that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy. We ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before Almighty God, but especially when we come together in his presence to give thanks for the great benefits we have received at his hands, to declare his most worthy praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things which are necessary for our life and our salvation. Therefore, draw near with me to the throne of heavenly grace.

There are comforting themes here.  We are all beloved of God, and we strive to love one another.  We acknowledge that we all sin.  Sin separates us from God and we cannot fix that separation ourselves.  We must depend on God to do it, and so we make humble confession, trusting in God’s infinite mercy to forgive.  This is particularly appropriate when we come together to acknowledge all the great gifts of God, including this beautiful world.  Together (virtually together if you are using the website) we hear God’s words in the Bible and make our prayers and thanksgivings.  We draw near to God’s throne, preparing for eternal life in which we will praise God and bask in his love for us in a renewed world without sin, evil, or death.

Our Sunday liturgy addresses these same themes, and centers around the ceremony of bread and wine that Jesus instructed us to follow.  

One way to learn about Anglicanism is to try the Daily Office for a while.  Plus, come and join us on Sundays.  We begin around 9:50 am with some hymns.  The formal liturgy starts around 10:00 am.